“That’s no problem. You can never tell about a hotel room nowadays. I’m on my way.”
About fifteen minutes later, Gong stepped out of his car.
“I couldn’t fall asleep, so I took a walk and ended up here,” Chen said.
“Nor could I,” Gong said. “I called his daughter in Beijing. Fei hasn’t contacted her either. That’s alarming. She is young, probably busy with her own life, but Fei calls her at least every other day. His wife passed away years ago, so he brought her up single-handedly.
“I went over the details of this trip of his, reviewing it like a movie in my mind. There are things that are not right. He came here to help the Wuxi police with a suspect from Sheshan because he had background information on the suspect. But was that necessary? A phone call or an e-mail would have been enough. In fact, Fei himself seemed to be puzzled.
“Then there was his reticence about it. We’re both cops, we know what to talk about and what to be discreet about, but between two old friends, there should be at least a word or two about what we’re doing, right? But no, he didn’t say anything at all about his assignment here.
“After the phone call he got in the hotel cafeteria, Fei did something else puzzling. He asked me whether I’d told my colleagues about our meeting. He seemed relieved when I told him I hadn’t. And then, he insisted that I not walk him out to the car because my face was ‘red like a cockscomb.’ I don’t think that was something that mattered…”
“That’s a good point,” Chen said nodding. “Anything else he said or did after he got the phone call?”
“No, nothing except-he went into the restroom for a minute or two. Then the car arrived, and he looked like he was going to say something, but he gave me a pack of cigarettes instead. Supreme Majestic. ‘Just opened on the train,’ he said. ‘Some of the residents in Sheshan are real Big Bucks.’ And then he left in a hurry.” Gong paused and looked around nervously before he continued, a catch in his voice. “Unable to sleep this evening, I opened the pack, and I found a mysterious note tucked in there: ‘Jiang: If something happens, you may have whatever was left behind, with your nose stuffed or not.’”
“That’s strange indeed. Can I have the note, Gong?”
“Of course, you take it. Let me know if you find anything. I’m really worried sick.”
TWENTY-SIX
CHEN RETURNED TO THE Sheshan neighborhood police station the next morning. Jiang seemed like he was waiting for Chen. The moment he walked in, Jiang went over and hung an “out of office” sign on the front door and closed it after him.
As Chen took a seat at the other end of the desk, Jiang started talking.
“I’m so glad you’re back, Chief. I went to Fei’s home yesterday,” Jiang said hurriedly. “I was hoping against hope, you know. He’s not back yet, but according to the neighborhood committee, there was a break-in at his apartment. Since his only daughter works in Beijing, they believe that someone in the neighborhood must have noticed that no one was home and took the advantage of the situation.”
“Even though they know Fei’s a cop, someone in the neighborhood broke in? That doesn’t add up.”
“Exactly. After I came back to the office, I also noticed some suspicious signs here, as if someone had done a secret search of the office. But the lock wasn’t damaged, and the windows weren’t broken. Whoever got in must have had a key. Without any hard evidence, it would be a joke to try and report it to the district office,” Jiang said. With a bitter smile, he added, “Perhaps I’m imagining things due to all the tension.”
“No. It’s another inside job.”
“But what are they looking for?”
“Something left by Fei.”
“You mean something from the scene at the hotel?”
“Yes, that’s a possibility.”
“What it could be is beyond me. There was another ‘coincidence’ yesterday. Internal Security came to the office in the late afternoon, asking a lot of questions about what Fei had said to me after we left the hotel. But as I’ve told you, he didn’t say anything to me.”
“Did they believe you?”
Jiang didn’t answer.
“I’ve told you about Liang, who disappeared so conveniently.” Chen went on after a deliberate pause, “Well, I went to Wuxi yesterday. Fei hasn’t been seen or heard from after he met with Gong at a hotel. Gong tried to contact him numerous times, without success. He’s called you, and last night he called Fei’s daughter, who also hasn’t heard from her father.”
“So you think Fei has disappeared, just like the other man?”
“But that’s not the end of it, Jiang. Suppose they’re after something they believe was in Fei’s possession, something they failed to get from him. That’s why he disappeared. And that’s the reason for the break-in at his apartment, and the professional search of this office. What will happen if this item in question is still out there?”
“What will happen then?” Jiang asked. He added, “I’ve heard a lot about your brilliant investigations, Chief Inspector.”
“With only Fei and you at the death scene in the hotel room that day, it’s not difficult to imagine what will happen next.”
Again, Jiang appeared to be momentarily tongue-tied.
“I was only in that hotel room for ten minutes or so,” Jiang finally managed to say, “and Internal Security was there the whole time.”
“But what about afterward? The only way out for you,” Chen said slowly, “is to make them give up looking for whatever it is.”
“But how can that be possible? I don’t have any idea what it is.”
“If it turns up somewhere else, they’ll be still worried, but they won’t be focused on you.”
“I’m confused, Chief Inspector.”
“Here is a note to you from Fei, written before he was taken away in Wuxi.”
Jiang stared at the scrap of paper for several minutes. The note was unambiguously ominous.
“‘Jiang: If something happens, you may have whatever was left behind, with your nose stuffed or not.’ What does this mean?”
“According to Gong, that note was slipped into a pack of cigarettes Fei gave him just before he drove away in the car. If anyone can get to the meaning of the note, it’s you.”
“If something happens-”
“His disappearance probably counts as ‘something,’”
“It is something-but even if we figure out what Fei ‘left behind,’” Jiang said deliberately, “I’m afraid these people still might not let us go.”
“Whatever it is, it’s related to his examination of the American’s death scene, right? Now, you have no idea what ‘it’ is, but somebody else does.”
Jiang pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Let me think.”
“What’s he referring to with ‘your nose stuffed or not?’” Chen murmured.
“Wait a minute-” Jiang jumped up and rushed into the back room. He came back with a glass jar in his hand.
“What’s that?”
“Fei’s parents came from Ningbo. I don’t think he’s ever been to Ningbo himself, but he’s crazy about Ningbo food. Particularly the stinky fermented tofu. He keeps a whole jar of it in our mini refrigerator. We got along well together in this small office, except for our constant squabbles over this jar. We both bring our lunches with us and eat them here. Once he takes out the stinky tofu, however, I have to flee the building. Except for rainy days, when I simply have to stay inside and stuff my nose with my fingers.”
“If that’s the case, you can step outside and smoke a cigarette. I’ll take a look at the jar in here.”
If there was really something in the jar, as long as Chen didn’t tell Jiang and he didn’t see it, then Jiang wouldn’t be responsible for the consequences.
The moment Jiang sidled out, Chen picked up the jar. It was quite large, with seemingly nothing but fermented tofu inside. There were at least thirty small pieces immersed in the amber-colored liquid, some of them with a grayish fuzzy surface.